Thank you for your response to my letter requesting information
about the marketing and selling of violent video games to
minors in your stores.
Playing video games is a very popular activity among children.
A growing body of scientific research is linking violent video
games and aggressive behavior and attitudes in children.
I believe that the policies you described to keep games such
as Manhunt, Hitman, and the Grand Theft Auto games out of
the hands of minors are inadequate. As an institutional investor,
_________is concerned about the reputation of COMPANY NAME
as a family-oriented store that cares about communities. The
types of products that COMPANY NAME sells affect that reputation.
[FOR WAL-MART, TARGET AND TOYS R US: Your letter described
that COMPANY NAME's cash registers have an ID prompt when
a Mature-rated game is purchased. How do you determine the
effectiveness of this prompt system and employees' compliance?]
[FOR BEST BUY: Your letter described that Best Buy does not
restrict the sale of Mature rated games to minors but instead
leaves it up to parents to monitor their children's purchases.
However, a 2001 survey found that only 55% of households said
that they understood video game ratings and only 7% of eighth
and ninth graders said their parents did not allow them to
purchase games because of their ratings. Has the company discussed
these findings? What is Best Buy doing in response? What has
the company found in its testing of sales restrictions in
Washington? Will this be expanded to other states? ]
[FOR ALL COMPANIES:] Last fall, a Federal Trade Commission
"mystery shopper" survey found that 69% of teenagers
were able to purchase Mature-rated games. Has the company
discussed this finding? What is the company doing in response?
A New York City Council investigative report, "Parents
Beware: Retail stores ignore video game ratings" found
that minors were able to purchase M-rated video games at 34
of the 35 stores surveyed. [This includes 4 Toys R Us/ 1 Best
Buy/ 1 Target/ 3 Circuit City stores in New York City.] The
report concludes: "Retailers must make a real commitment
to keeping video games with graphic violence or strong sexual
content out of the hands of children." What is COMPANY
NAME doing in response to this finding? [FOR TARGET/WAL-MART/TOYS
R US: Will this study cause COMPANY NAME to revisit its carding
system?] How will the Interactive Entertainment Merchants
Association's new national carding system - which I understand
will not go into effect until the next holiday season - eliminate
the ease with which minors purchase M-rated games? Why are
retail companies waiting until the end of the year to implement
this system?
A more fundamental question relates to the standards our
company employs when deciding which products to sell. Does
COMPANY NAME have standards regarding its marketing of video
games that encourage and reward players for performing acts
of violence and brutality? The Entertainments Software Ratings
Board system, I believe, is too complex and inconsistent to
be helpful to consumers, and its criteria for rating video
games are not publicly disclosed. FTC Commissioner Swindle,
for one, has expressed concern about the advertising of M-rated
games in venues that attract a large number of teens, and
that the ESRB does not do an adequate job of communicating
the reasoning behind its rating system. Do you as a vendor
get enough information and support from ESRB to adequately
select and promote appropriate video entertainment?"
Commission Swindle also stated that if the public wants a
change in the marketing practices of violent video games,
the public must demand that change and express its wishes
in the currency of the marketplace. I believe that this issue
is of growing concern to the public, and as an investor, I
want to know what our company is doing about this.
Is COMPANY NAME willing to meet with shareholders to discuss
these concerns in more detail? I look forward to a response
soon.
